The Superman Returns filmmaker dropped the spandex outfits from the comic book source material in favour of matching black leather uniforms in his original X-Men trilogy, but will not be doing so this time around.

He wrote on Twitter: "For those of you wondering... no leather suits."

X-Men: Days of Future Past will see James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender reprise their respective roles of Professor Xavier and Magneto. The story is inspired by a 1981 Uncanny X-Men plotline depicting a dystopian future where mutants are hunted by giant robots called Sentinels.

Matthew Vaughn was original attached to return to the director's chair, but reverted to a producer role after signing on to direct the movie adaptation of Mark Millar's Secret Service comic.

X-Men: Days of Future Past is scheduled for a July 18, 2014 release date.